A Little Common Sense Could Go a Long Way

The other day one of our Friends asked Shawn Nelson for his impressions on the much-discussed High Speed Rail project. Our Friend has helpfully forwarded Nelson’s reply:

I have been struck lately by the supporters of the high speed rail and their seeming lack of common sense when it comes to problem solving; my observations have led me to believe that the current leadership of the program has become more focused on getting a pot of government gold to spend (the more the merrier) and enriching the myriad players involved in the process. By ignoring existing opportunities to run the rail project on the already existing lines of the Metrolink and Amtrak the current design for the high speed rail (HSR) to run from Anaheim to Los Angeles provides a windfall to those in the consulting industry by requiring countless hours of public outreach and environmental impact study.

Why aren’t the leaders of the program asking the basic questions and looking for basic answers? Case in point: I went to a presentation in Anaheim two weeks ago given by the project team of HSR. They explained that the HSR will be able to connect Anaheim and LA in 23 minutes. Of course to accomplish this the tracks would need to be able to cross existing streets that are not presently separated from the rail line (think at grade rail crossings with the drop arms and flashing lights) and some improvements to a curve in the tracks in the Buena Park area. They admitted that the first leg could be a stand alone service in case the rest of the project were never built!

After a few follow up questions we learned the existing system only takes 30 minutes as is and with a few of the improvements that are necessary for the HSR the Metrolink will be able to achieve the same speed as the HSR from Anaheim to LA. With a few of the upgrades being made to the existing system we could all make it to downtown LA in about 26 minutes.

In layman’s terms the first leg of the project is a likely multi-billion dollar effort to shave a few minutes off the average commute from Anaheim to LA. It would save ZERO time if we just made the grade separation improvements and ran an express line (i.e. no stops in between) once per hour! Is there anyone on the HSR board that is thinking this through? Clearly we do not need to spend billions of dollars to avoid running an express train once an hour to LA do we?

The concept of HSR in California could be a useful project tying the central parts of the state with the major metropolitan areas of the San Francisco Bay area and greater Los Angeles. Why isn’t the current effort focused on getting the communities in between tied in to the anchors on each end? Couldn’t Amtrak funding be tied in if the train went to the exact same locations on the route? As things stand now both ends of the line have currently operating rail systems that could be used and result in tens of billions in savings. Can’t the HSR start out by connecting the southern most terminus of BART with the northern most terminus of Metrolink?

Art Leahy, former OCTA president and now the current head of the MTA in Los Angeles, has gone on record acknowledging the problems with the existing approach. I applaud Art for standing up. He has a working knowledge of these systems and we should listen to him. I hope he takes a prominent role in the discussion going forward. Another public figure to recently demand some common sense be included in this process is Assemblywoman Diane Harkey of south Orange County who recognized the disaster we are walking into if we sell bonds to cover the costs for the current proposals.

There are a number of other problems such as why would our Measure M dollars be used to fund the vast majority of the HSR train storage facility/transit link planned in Anaheim? Isn’t measure M money generated here for the purpose of helping all commuters get around Orange County? This is a state and federal project not a local project. Getting people from San Francisco to Anaheim was never the purpose of Measure M. To make matters worse, the $140 million or so in Measure M funds being proposed for the train parking facility are desperately needed by cities like Placentia and Fullerton to finance underpasses at railroad grade crossings – grade separations that will make life better for everybody in North Orange County.

The road we are on now is going to exhaust all the funding available at the state and federal levels, enrich a few well-connected consultants, ruin many neighborhoods that don’t need disturbing and accomplish virtually nothing but duplication of service already provided. Why can’t common sense have a place at the table? Government doesn’t have to be the home of poor execution, but in order to get results that are good for the citizens we need to demand accountability before it is too late.

Another Gut Punch to Pringle’s HSR Boondoggle

Just checked out this article at the new Voice of OC.

"A" is for...

Read Pringle’s quotes and try not to barf. Of course he’s pimping this monster hard, after all, he plans to reap big dividends personally when his Mayorship in Anaheim comes to a slimy conclusion.

Here’s the money quote:

But Pringle said “when the whole system’s up and operating, we’ll have a tremendous operating income” to keep it going. He said specifics will be spelled out in future business plans.

In other words, he has no idea what the operating income is and he doesn’t want anybody to know that. If he can’t give us the facts now he’s just gambling with our money. But the House always wins. And Pringle is the House. Sweet. For him.

Diane Harkey Tries To Drive Spike Through Heart of High Speed Rail Boondoggle

You go, girl...

I’ve never heard much good about Diane Harkey, the State Assemblywoman from, um, down there somewhere.

But that changed dramatically when a Friend of mine and a devout High Speed Rail opponent sent me a link to a  San Mateo County Times story that talks about Harkey’s attempt to kill the bond sale to raise $9.5 billion dollars and start putting it into the greasy palms of Curt Pringle and Harry Sidhu’s backroom buddies.

It seems Ms. Harkey thinks it’s a poor idea for the State to take on more debt given its current catatonic fiscal condition. And maybe she’s come to the realization that “jobs, jobs, jobs” at the cost of billions more indebtedness is not a conservative recipe for success. So she’s introducing legislation to stop the the floating o’ the bond (ambiguous St. Pat’s Day reference).

And I say good for her!

And I also say it’s time for Fullerton politicians and residents to figure out what the alignment impacts will have on Fullerton and how much that’ll cost us.

National Spay and Neuter Your Dog Week and National Gambling Problem Awareness Week. Our Assembly Hard at Work

Don't you dare touch those...

This past week our State Assembly frittered away its time discussing two resolutions that are just about as big a joke as you could imagine.

The first  item National Spay and Neuter Your Dog Week, and the second National Gambling Problem Awareness Week. I’m glad our assemblyman Chris Norby voted no on both, especially that first one (shudder), and I hope he can help put an end to all the time wasted on this useless drivel. While our State is broke the State Assembly continues with business as usual. Arf.

I vote we emasculate the Legislature.

Fullerton “Tea Party” Draws Small But Energetic Crowd

Several hundred people showed up for an “paycheck protection” rally yesterday behind the Slidebar in Fullerton’s Transportation Center. The small but enthusiastic crowd got to hear from several state and local political leaders including Fullerton’s pension spiking spoiler Shawn Nelson, pension crisis watchdog OC Supervisor John Moorlach, Assemblyman Chris Norby, Assemblyman Chuck Devore, gubernatorial candidate Steve Poizner, Congressman Dana Rohrabacher, and a very energetic Villa Park Councilwoman Deborah Pauly.

The event was sponsored by the Tea Partiers, but the focus was to those in attendance to go out and gather signatures for the paycheck protection initiative that would protect union employees from the union automatically taking dues from the paychecks of their members and use the money to fund political campaigns that might be distasteful the members..

DeVore, who is running to unseat Senator Barbara Boxer, read from old Abe’s famous “four score and seven years ago” speech and then related that to the current cycle of of money and politics that has pushed California and many local governments to the brink of fiscal collapse.

Devore explained the deal works:

  1. Public employee unions take money from their members without consent.
  2. The union then donates money to politicians of both parties.
  3. These politicians enact a pro-union agenda which generally entails richer salaries and benefits and more union members.  The unions increase in wealth and power all at taxpayer expense.

The funnest part of the event was confronting a Harry “Carpetbagging” Sidhu paid staffer who was handing out Harry fliers. I asked him if he knew where Harry lived, at first he gave me a line of baloney about how carpetbagging is a good thing and then admitted that he knows all about carpetbaggers because he worked on Ackerwoman’s scampaign, and that Harry’s probably going to lose, but he needed a job and Harry has deep pockets.

Enjoy some of the highlights of the event:

Live: Mark Bucher and Martha Montelongo on Unions and the Economic Crisis

For the first time on record, public employee union membership now outnumbers private sector union membership.  The impact of this ascendancy is glaringly evident in California, creating a destructive and unsustainable drain that threatens the financial future of our state.

Tune in to the Martha Montelongo show on Saturday from 10-11 am as Mark Bucher joins Martha to discuss California’s Economic Crisis, the causes, and a Citizen Power Initiative to shift power back to the citizens, away from the Public Employee Unions that dominate the State Government at every level.

Chamber Star: Norby Elevates Self to Statesman Status

Friends, we have just received this communication from our old pal Chamber Star, who, although absent of late, has returned to share some breaking news. Although we can’t vouch for it’s reliability, we reproduce the CS e-mail, verbatim:

Dear FFFF,

I have just learned that Chris Norby, the Republican candidate in Tuesday’s 72nd District Special Election has asked for, and has received, the endorsement of his primary opponent Linda Ackerman.

This is great news! It was a rough and tumble election and a lot of negative things were said on both sides; so it is especially gratifying to see old adversaries patch up their differences and move ahead in unity and harmony.

I know some people on this blog will criticize Chris. They will ask how can he possibly want the endorsement of someone who accused him of so many vile things? They will ask how can he possibly want the endorsement of an opponent that he accused of fraudulent residence and profiteering off her husband’s campaigns? They will no doubt argue that Norby won so convincingly that he does not need Linda’s endorsement at all.

To this I respond by saying that it’s politic to let bygones be bygones; to pull together for the common good; to work together! And let’s not forget that Norby has two more elections this year alone. Norby can only benefit from party unity both in gaining votes and fundraising.

It’s obvious that Chris is being guided by wise counsel and the kind of pragmatism that gets real results in Sacramento. He is following the course of the true statesman.

And I for one, say “Bravo!”

Greenhut Launches Watchdog Website

Steven Greenhut just launched The CalWatchdog website (www.calwatchdog.com), a journalism project designed to provide investigative coverage of the state’s increasingly dysfunctional government.

This project could not have come at a better time, considering how the California budget is facing unprecedented shortfalls while the power and size of government continues to grow.

CalWatchdog’s first major story describes some upcoming state bills that allocate $11 billion to water projects which may not even be feasible. The story describes a “ready, shoot, aim” approach to water bonds that is destined to fail much like Gov. Jerry Brown’s geothermal “ghost” plants from the mid-1980s.

We hope that Steve’s new venture will bring some long-missing accountability to our negligent state legislature.

Another Carpetbagger Bites the Carpet

Okay stifle the snickers, 8th graders.

Art Pedroza over at the the Orange Juice blog did a post today about the phantom candidate, Sue Perez, pulling a campaignus interruptus in a putative bid for the 34th State Senate seat currently held by Lou Correa. This was important to us for two reasons: part of the 34th District includes Fullerton. And Sue Perez lives in the 33rd District. We have already posted on this woman’s carpetbagging candidacy, here.

Why did the chicken cross the road? To return to the 33rd State Senate District.
Why did the chicken cross the road? To return to the 33rd State Senate District.

Of course Art’s main thrust was to immediately poke holes in his newest target, Supervisor Janet Nguyen, who for some reason decided to let herself be named co-chair of this unknown wingnut’s effort. The other co-chair,  frighteningly enough, was our own brainless scarecrow, 33rd District State Senator Mimi Walters, who, not coincidentally also championed the hollow, illegal candidacy of the Ackerwoman. Figures. Ah, more Repuglican values we can count on.

At any rate both of these co-chairs have been spared the humiliation of seeing their candidate get the living shit kicked out of her by Correa. So that worked out okay for them.

The story that is being circulated is that Perez has some baggage. Pedroza hazily speculates that this involves her carpetbagging and her husband’s appointment to the Anaheim Planning Commission by Lorri Galloway.  This seems like small change to us, especially since Perez has apparently been employed by the bizzaros at the Trinity Broadcast Network.

Jaysus says "be elected!"
Jaysus says "be elected!"

So poor Jerb Cunningham, who has spilled lotsa ink badmouthing Lou Correa, is still in search of a God-fearing candidate. Good luck little fella. Maybe your hero Dick “I don’t look so good in stripes” Ackerman can scrounge up another Lynn “the Bulldozer” Daucher for us.

Teachers’ Pension Fund Lying Low, Set to Explode

Certain Fullerton school board members have taken issue with our characterization of the CalSTRS teachers’ pension system as being underfunded and unsustainable.  Our resident pension expert suggests that that the board may be reading a few too many rose-colored newsletters emanating from the retirement system itself. Perhaps some illumination is necessary.

This is as clear as it gets.

Before the market crash, CalSTRS was facing a $22.5 billion dollar shortfall. Since then, the market crash has killed about 30% of its assets. At this point, nobody knows how short the fund will be until it is recalculated in the spring. But the results are guaranteed to be frightening.

It’s true that CalPERS is getting all of the attention lately, but that’s only because CalSTRS doesn’t have the same power to levy rate hikes without legislative approval. Rest assured, the teachers’ union has already begun its lobbying effort to boost taxpayer contributions for teachers who retired long ago.

Some estimate that the fund will need to increase contributions by 75% next year. Pension apologists love to claim that “teachers pay for their own retirement”. The truth: payments to the teachers’ pension fund are primarily made by taxpayers, with only about 40% coming from teachers.

Well, maybe sometimes it's too late to be smart.

Further efforts by CalSTRS to distance itself from the problems at CalPERS were hindered again this week as Moodys cut debt ratings for both agencies.

After the bomb goes off next year, the smoke will clear and taxpayers will be reaching into their wallets to clean up another mess. Who is to blame? State legislatures past and present, ignorant school boards across the state, the all-powerful teachers unions and their deceptive actuarials.

For regular updates on the pension crisis and its affect around the nation, visit Fullerton’s very own PensionTsunami.com. School board members should subscribe to email updates, lest they remain uninformed as the tidal wave approaches.